


Pride and Powerlifting

by JewellTrim



Series: Powerlifting [1]
Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Darcy is Elizabeth's Role Model, F/M, Real Men Wear Tights, Tournaments, powerlifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8946166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewellTrim/pseuds/JewellTrim
Summary: Darcy is one of the strongest powerlifters, taking after his father who is now his coach. Elizabeth is still pretty new to powerlifting and is a fan of Darcy's, but she never thought the day would come when she would see him lift, or the day he would offer advice.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My brother](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+brother).



> A/N: So my brother is a powerlifter which is pretty cool to watch live (Though it last the entire day practically). I decided while watching, to come up with a alternate universe to pay homage to something he likes because I like my broski! So Darcy's weights are based off of my brother's because he is the strongest lifters in his weight and is swole (it's never good to sit directly next to him in the car). Anyway, let's do this!!!

The tournament was well underway in its final attempt of the last flight for the first event. The voice of the announcer screamed over the heavy metal music playing in the background. Spectators talked amongst each other and coaches gave last minute advice to competitors. This was the life he knew, he had known for the past decade and a half. As the son of the owner of the famous sport facility chain, he was immersed in the world of fitness. Darcy decided to pursue the sport his father did when William was born; powerlifting.  
William took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself to lift the bar. Closing his eyes, he felt the weight of the iron pressed up against his back shoulders. Taking a few more deep breaths, he lifted the bar with the weights secured on each end and steadied himself. William stared out into the crowd as he concentrated on squatting deep, arching his back and sticking his butt out before pushing himself up. The weight at first didn’t want to go back up, but he could hear faintly the screams and cheers of people telling him to finish strong. Over the noise he heard his father’s voice and he gave a cry and pushed back against the weight and was able to stand. He held his position before the referee called that it was good. The spotters took the bar and set it back in place while Darcy shook hands with the three referees, before untightening the thick belt around his stomach. The announcer came over the speaker, declaring he had just scored a new personal best as well as a national record. Spectators all cheered and clapped for him while Darcy went back to the bench in the far corner to drink more of his protein drink.  
In the corner already Charles was prepping himself for the bench set which was the next event. Since they were in different flights, Charles was going to inevitably finish before Darcy.  
“Good job on that last one. You did a 282.5 kg on that last one right? It looked like you weren’t going to make it at first.” Charles chatted away distractedly as he took of his jacket so he was back in his singlet.  
Darcy rolled his eyes, “You forgot to stick your butt out more, you would’ve gotten your last attempt easily if you had done it.”  
Bingley shrugged, “I mean it’s fine. I’m in the next event and I’m pretty good at bench press.”  
“Well don’t get caught on technical stuff. I won’t stick up for you if my father has you doing some insane training and you don’t get to eat any of the good stuff.”  
“Don’t be like that Darcy, besides I’m not allowed to slip up because I think I have a new fan.” Charles grinned from ear to ear.  
“Another girl in the crowd? It doesn’t surprise me. I feel like half the girls here are just here for men pressing metal in tight clothes.”  
“If you hate the tights so much, why didn’t you go into something else that didn’t’ show off so much, like basketball?”  
“Why are you powerlifting, Charles?”  
“Girls love a fit man. That and I respect my body and like keeping it in good condition. Working out with a team is a good way to keep me accountable.”  
The announcer ended their conversation when they announced that Bingley was in the hole on standby to lift.  
Darcy decided to go to the bathroom since he had an hour to kill. As he moved through the crowd he stole a glance to the seated spectators. He wondered if he could spot Charles’s supposed new fan. There was a great deal more women than men. There were a few parents and spouses as well cheering on their husbands.  
His eye caught sight of a woman sitting towards the middle, her eyes were focused keenly on the competitors going. He wondered which one she was there for. She definitely looked pretty, but she also felt kind of out of place. A delicate and classical girl at a hot and sweaty event with loud metal music, it didn’t fit. When Bingley’s name was called, his gaze turned to watch his friend.  
The weight wasn’t difficult for Charles and he got all good lights. Darcy looked back at the pretty classical woman and found she was clapping with a beautiful smile across her face. Maybe she was the new fan after all. He hadn’t seen her here before.  
Darcy went back to his original destination of finding the bathroom. A girl, with her hair in a messy bun caught his attention. She was laughing with another girl with her. The way her eyes sparkled and her shoulders shook with laughter, had him curious as to what she was saying. When her eyes turned in his direction, he averted his gaze and walked passed her as if he didn’t observe her in the first place.

Elizabeth caught sight of the infamous William Darcy. She couldn’t help but be impressed. The man was pretty strong and he never even rubbed it in to girls the amount of trophies he has like other competitors. His figure was carved out beautifully under the singlet that never really covers much to make a person comfortable to be seen in it for long before putting on sweats on top. Though Darcy was wearing sweatpants now, she could still see his broad shoulders and biceps.  
“Hello, earth to Liz. You still with me?” called Charlotte.  
“Huh?” Elizabeth tore her gaze from the man and looked back at her friend, “Sorry, what?”  
“We were talking about William Collins trying to ask you out on a date.”  
“Oh yeah. My mother was upset that I never give any guy a chance, but I don’t believe that to be true. I just never give any of the guys she selects because they are all the same. They’re all like Collins.”  
Charlotte shook her head and gave a humored smile, “I still don’t see why you refer to him by his last name.”  
“Because he ruins the name William for me.” Elizabeth grimaced in disgust. “How is it that I know two people with the same name, but are complete the opposite. I have mixed feelings with it, so I shall just call them by their last names until I can decide whether I like it or not.”  
“Because it’s the same name of a certain powerlifter that you admire?” Charlotte said, doing the little motion with her eyebrows suggestively.  
“No! I mean. I respect him, I don’t admire him. He isn’t like most guys I’ve met who think that girls shouldn’t lift because they think we’ll build up huge muscles.”  
“Like Collins.”  
“Exactly!” Elizabeth turned back to their place in line for her to weigh in. “It’s almost my turn finally.”  
“You nervous not having your uncle her at all?” Charlotte asked worriedly.  
“I should be fine. I have my two biggest fans to cheer me on.” Lizzie beamed.  
“Well I think you lost one of your fans to the men’s. Jane seems awfully more interested than usual in today’s tournament. Usually she will have a book out or something.”  
Lizzie frowned in wonder. What had caught her older sister’s interest over there?  
About five minutes later Lizzie was finally weighed in and was moving to find seats by Jane who had thoughtfully saved two.  
“I see you seem content to stay here for several more hours, Jane.” Elizabeth remarked.  
They usually just waited around while Lizzie did her weigh in and then leave. The day following the men’s competition was the women’s where she was to compete.  
“I kind of got sucked into watching a couple of rounds and then I don’t know what happened next.” Jane ceased talking when a fair headed man stepped up and went down to do his next bench. She seemed to be silently cheering him on.  
Lizzie noticed this and looked at the name on the screen and then the man himself. Charles Bingley, age 25. Bench pressing 135kg.  
The man on the bench shifted his hands a little bit to make sure they were in place before signaling he was ready and his spotter, who was his coach, take the bar off the setting stand. He was breathing hard as the bar went down and then it went back up and he got all good lights. Jane clapped for him with a relieved smile on her face.  
Elizabeth was amused by her sister’s interest. She had heard of Charles Bingley before, he trained at the same gym and under the same coach as Darcy.  
Bingley sent a smile towards Jane, looking directly at her before turning to wait for his next attempt.  
Lizzie was surprised at his obvious and public interest. She had heard rumors that he was very outgoing and good-natured. She wondered if that spelled that he loved too easily as well.  
“So do you want to go or stay longer?” she finally asked the group.  
Jane clearly wanted to stay, but didn’t want to force the others to stay for another five hours to watch the proceedings.  
“We can leave.”  
Charlotte only shrugged which left it down to Elizabeth. It was true that she had better things to do than to spend hours at a place where the next day she’d be at again for half a day. However, this would probably be the only time she would be able to see Darcy lift, and she kind of didn’t want to miss that.  
“We can stay.”  
Jane only gave small hints of her pleasure while Charlotte only grinned at her companions who had certain men that they had their eyes on and were cheering for. There was plenty of room in the back to stretch out and take a nap if necessary anyway.

 

Charles was a grinning fool as he finished all of his attempts with no fails. He made his way back to where Coach Darcy was helping his son put on weights to practice his bench press.  
“Dude, is there such thing as love at first sight?” he sighed dreamily.  
“No.” Darcy said curtly as he laid back down on the bench.  
“I wouldn’t say that. The moment I met your mother, there was an instant connection that we couldn’t describe.” Smiled the older Darcy.  
“It’s different for you, dad. Charles feels this way about every girl.”  
“I’m aware.” Chuckled the coach.  
“It’s different this time. It’s like I can feel her cheering me on as I lift. I can’t seem to fail with her encouraging me.”  
“Sure. Right. That’s why you didn’t fail your last squat.” Darcy huffed after he set the bar back after pressing once.  
“You already told me about my form. I’m sure if she stays until the end, I can’t fail. You’ll see.”  
“That’s if she stays. She may leave. This doesn’t really seem like her seen.” William confided in his opinion.  
“I saw her sitting with two other girls. Maybe they’re together. One of them was holding a competitor’s folder. She maybe be going tomorrow.” That brought a smile to Charles’s face, “Which means there’s a good chance my angel will be here tomorrow!”  
“Since when was she your angel?” smirked the coach.  
“She’s watching over me while I lift. Like a beautiful guardian angel.”  
“Well that’s cute, but why don’t you stretch or something and allow me to finish warming up.”  
Charles only laughed before making his way to refill his bottle for another protein drink.  
“I guess that means Charles will be here tomorrow.” Darcy’s father said as he helped his son do another press.  
“I had no doubt he would in the first place. He just has a certain person he’ll be looking out for though.”  
“Well I guess I can join him then.” Smiled the older man.  
“You? Why? Is Georgiana secretly debuting tomorrow?”  
“No, I just want to watch the women’s performance. There are some new girls who may not have actual coaches yet.”  
“What happened to keeping it just all men?”  
“I’m sure not every girl is going to swoon over you.”  
“Yeah yeah, you’re hilarious.” Murmured William before getting up from the bench.

 

The next day Darcy found himself joining Bingley and his father to the women’s part of the tournament. He told himself it was because he would’ve been bored alone at home with his mother and sister out of town for the weekend.  
It didn’t take long for Charles to spot the woman from yesterday and he made a casual approach to her and the two began talking. Darcy hung back, practically lurking as he walked around the room on the practice side. His father was caught by someone who was talking to him so he figured he could entertain himself until the first event started.  
“I feel nauseous, Char. Maybe it’s better that I drop out now so I won’t make fool of myself.”  
Darcy understood newbies to the sport getting nervous before going up and he turned to look at who the speaker was. It was the laughing girl from the day before. She was dressed in her blue singlet and had her hands over her stomach clutched tightly.  
“You’ll be fine. You’re just nervous because your uncle isn’t here, but I already said that I could be your substitute coach. I may not be able to spot you on the bench but I can cheer you on.” Said the girl who was called Char.  
Darcy frowned and couldn’t help his body from moving over to stand in front of them. The nervous girl looked surprised at him while Char looked at her friend and then at Darcy.  
“I couldn’t help but overhearing that you aren’t feeling well. Nerves can affect you on your first real meet so it is expected, but everyone does well in their first tournament unless you completely ignore the rules and safety.” The nervous girl looked speechlessly up at him so he continued. “You should technically have a coach or someone telling advising you so you won’t hurt yourself. Especially if this is your first time.”  
“It’s not.” She finally found her voice. Her hands dropped to her side. “This is actually my third tournament. While yes, some people may still call me new, I’m not ignorant of the rules and safety.”  
“Do you not work under a coach? I can only see that leading to bad form when competing if—.”  
“I do. He’s my uncle. Unfortunately, he just had knee surgery and couldn’t be here. I am however fine.”  
Darcy was impressed at how quickly she turned around from nervousness to determination.  
“Well I expect no fails then from you since you are capable of doing this without a coach.” He didn’t know why he did it, but it was his awful way of pushing her to do her best. Riling her up also seemed to get her out of her funk. Her eyes though, the fire from determination made him hesitate a little before moving away from her.  
After he was seated with his father, he wanted to smack himself. He didn’t know her name or which flight she was in. She could be at the very end, or maybe he went to the bathroom while she had gone and missed her.  
Charles was sitting with the pretty girl from yesterday and another woman. Darcy did a double take. The woman was that Char person who was with the woman competitor with captivating eyes. Part of him wanted to ask Charles to ask who the woman’s name was so he’d know, for the tournament of course. That and to make sure she didn’t get any fails.  
“Something distracting you?” asked his father.  
“Hmm? It’s nothing.”  
“Well nothing sure does seem like a whole lot of something to have you glancing constantly back at Charles and that girl.”  
“It’s not that girl— she’s friends I think of someone who is competing. Her coach isn’t here because of surgery. It’s not like I’m interested in her or anything.”  
William’s father looked curiously at the group. Whenever he found something interesting he’d leap at the advantage.  
You must be willing to fight for it! Was the old man’s way of thinking on everything.  
Darcy watched as the first flight was called up and he absently searched to see if he could find a particular brunette with a long ponytail and a blue singlet. When he didn’t see her, he went back to conversing with his father. After a time, his father walked away to stretch his legs. It was the third attempt now and the second flight was called to get ready.  
There! She was standing with a group of other woman who looked slightly more swollen than she. Her right hand gripped the thick belt she had to put on.  
Was she nervous? Was she just extremely focused?  
The names of the next group were up, but since they didn’t sit in order, he couldn’t tell what her name was.  
She looked around the seated crowd and found her friends and waved at them before taking a seat herself.  
William went to look where his father had gone off to and his heart stopped for a second when he saw that the older man was with Bingley and the ladies.  
They were talking for a couple of minutes before he came back over and sat down next to him.  
“What were you doing?” Darcy asked suspiciously.  
“Elizabeth Bennet.”  
“What?”  
“Her name. You wanted to know right?” smiled his father.  
William puffed his chest and scoffed, “You assume I didn’t know her name or that I was interested in the first place.”  
“There’s nothing wrong with showing a little interest in another competitor and how they do. Even if they so happen to be female.”  
“I’m not interested in her in the least.” Darcy caught his eyes straying in her direction as she closed her eyes in concentration before her turn. “Just confused.” He mumbled.  
Old Mr. Darcy only shrugged before clapping his son on the back, “Well I’m going to go over there and see if she needs any help. Her coach is having his surgery today and it’s her uncle so she must feel a little distracted. Gardiner is a good man. I’m proud to see his niece compete. I’m glad I didn’t stay home.”  
William watched his father get up and walk to the bull pen where coaches and competitors sat, waiting their turn. He watched as she started at the sudden tap on her shoulder and they talked a bit before the elder Darcy sat down next to her. William wished he could hear what they were talking about. It probably was the usual reminders in keeping form, but still. He’d rather be over there then—  
“Oh my god, it’s Will Darcy! I didn’t think he’d be here today.” A shrill voice from behind made him tense a little.  
“I feel like his biceps have gotten bigger since the last tournament.” Added another girl.  
“I wonder who he’s here to cheer for?”  
“Oh I wish he’d cheer for me.”  
“Should we try and talk to him?”  
Darcy chose that moment to stand up and go for a walk around the gym. He got a glimpse of the speakers and wasn’t really impressed. His eyes also went to the rotation board to see when Elizabeth Bennet would go. She was third from last so he had time to take a few lapse.  
Charles, he noticed as he walked by his friend, was enjoying himself with his ‘angel’. The man never had a hard time talking to ladies. The other girl seemed to have lost interest in their conversation when she noticed that Bingley was taking a more particular interest in her companion. It didn’t seem to faze her in the least. Her eyes were focused on his father and Elizabeth. She must’ve been the one to tell his father her name.  
When the name Bennet was called about ten minutes later, Darcy took a casual spot near the wall with a clear view of the competitor. His father fastened the belt around her waist before giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and sending her out.  
She looked pretty focused as she took her place. Her base attempt was 45.3kg which was 100lbs. William felt like that was a good enough amount for her to begin with for her size.  
Taking a deep breath after getting situated under the bar, Elizabeth did the walk out and fixed her stance. He gaze was fixed determinedly on some far off spot as she dropped down into her squat.  
Her back is straight, good. Butt out, nice. All she needs to do is lift the bar back up.  
Elizabeth pushed the weight back up and waited for the call before he burden was relieved from her shoulders and she was rewarded with all good lights. Her smile was huge and she looked out in the crowd and found her friends who were clapping for her. Bingley was also clapping.  
Darcy couldn’t help smiling as she walked off to the side and give her next attempt’s weight. Afterwards she was talking to William’s father with such excitement on her face.  
The vibration of his phone made him pull his gaze away and look down. It was a call from Georgiana and no doubt his mom was with her.  
“Hey Georgie.”  
“Will! I’m so sorry I couldn’t call yesterday, but then mom reminded me that you might want to sleep after the competition yesterday. How did it go? I watched the live feed with mom. You and Charles looked great.”  
William smiled, “Both of us did well. Charles got first place in his compilation and weight. I got best male lifter and first place in my compilation and weight.”  
“Did you hurt yourself on the last one, it looked like you were in pain?” it was his mother speaking.  
“Hey mom. Yeah my calluses tore again, but I was able to push through it. I bandaged my hands right afterwards.”  
“Did your father give you any advice on how to keep that from happening again?”  
“It’s not that big of a deal. I’ll try to put lotion on my hands when I’m not in a tournament. It should help to keep them from tearing open.”  
The loud cheering made him miss his mother’s words.  
“Sorry, can you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you over the noise.”  
“Are you at a club?”  
“No. I’m at the second half of the tournament with Charles and dad. Charles wanted to come because of a girl and dad is looking to find new members for the gym.”  
“I’m sure you must be tired after competing all of yesterday.”  
“I am, but it’s not too bad.” William looked back up to look for Bennet. She was impatiently bobbing her leg up and down. It made him smile a little.  
“According to Georgiana, this is the most female competitors so far.” His mother said.  
Darcy vaguely remembered the announcer saying something about that. It was pretty impressive. Not a lot of women took to the sport, and not a lot of men were supportive. The idea that the women would look like men with huge muscles was a turnoff to many men. It was completely false though, and he had a high respect for any woman who competed. There of course were those who didn’t take it seriously, but the world wouldn’t be complete without those people.  
There were plenty of women who came to the Darcy gyms to watch him work out and train for tournaments. Charles jokingly said that he was a motivator for many a woman. William rolled his eyes, that wasn’t supposed to be the reason a person tried to improve their health by exercising.  
“Tell your father we said hello. We’re about to go out for lunch.”  
“Okay, have fun. Bye Georgie.”  
“Bye Will!”

 

“This next time, I want you to go all the way down when you squat. That last time you didn’t and there’s no reason to get a fail on technical.”  
“Yes sir.” Elizabeth nodded as she watched some girls start to fail in their second attempts.  
“You’ll do fine.” Coach Darcy smiled down at her.  
Elizabeth smiled back, “Do I seem that nervous?”  
“Anxious, yes.”  
“I’m just excited. I’ve never been this pumped for a competition ever!”  
“Really?”  
“Well my first tournament I had a couple of fails, but was able to finish. I didn’t place at all. The second one I got third. I’ve been training hard for this one and was kind of worried when my uncle suddenly had to get knee surgery. However, someone I look up to told me that I better not get any fails today. Then you offered to help me. I feel unstoppable.”  
Coach Darcy chuckled, “Well I’m glad I’m able to assist. Your uncle is a good man. I was in a tournament with him when I competed. It was during my final year and he was just beginning. He was pretty good if I remember correctly.”  
Elizabeth swelled with pride about hearing praise for her uncle from a great powerlifter now coach.  
Her name was called and she went up with Coach Darcy to get ready for her second attempt. As she took her place under the bar, she glanced around the room to see if he was watching.  
Of course he’s here. He wouldn’t just challenge her and then leave without making sure she accomplished it.  
Taking a deep breath, she went through the motions, just like she had practiced for months. The new weight dug into her shoulders as she took the few steps of her walk out and then planted her feet. Lifting her head up, she bent down as far as her legs would allow her. They screamed their objection, but she was able to push herself up and deposited the bar back in its spot. Elizabeth heard Charlotte above the crowd as she cheered and clapped for her. Jane too was clapping with a proud smile. The guy who Jane had been watching compete, Bingley, had found his way over to her sister and was clapping too.  
Elizabeth walked back over to give her weight for her last attempt. The last round she did 50.8kg which was 112lbs.  
Should I try something I haven’t tried before?  
So far she was 2-2, she didn’t want to risk getting a fail, but she didn’t want him to say that she was playing it safe the entire time. Her goal was to get first this tournament.  
Her eyes found him standing against the wall, his eyes catching hers. It was decided, she would try it. 55.8kg was about 123lbs. Elizabeth hadn’t lifted that amount successfully before, but hey, if you don’t take the risk you’ll never know.  
She walked back over to coach Darcy who was waiting for her.  
“How did that last one feel?” he asked.  
“A little harder on my legs, but that just meant I didn’t settle down in the squat good enough.” She said breathlessly as she took a gulp of water.  
“Why don’t you get you some protein powder in your water for your last attempt. What weight did you say?”  
“55.8kg.”  
“How were the times you lifted that in practice?”  
“Well I haven’t been able to stand back up with it in practice, but I figured I should at least try. So that person can’t say I was playing it safe.”  
Coach Darcy wondered who this person was who motivated the young powerlifter so much. He amused himself with the thought of it being his son. The man however was so antisocial when it came to women that he doubted it.  
While his charge went off to refill her bottle, he made his way over to his son.  
“What do you think?”  
“She’s doing than I imagined she would. That last one though, looked like she wasn’t going to get back up. She was so slow to rise.”  
“She said she’s planning on attempting a weight she’s never accomplished in practice.” Smiled the older Darcy.  
William frowned in confusion, “Why?”  
“She wants to prove herself to someone apparently.”  
William wondered if he should find her and talk her into not hurting herself to try and do his stupid challenge. It wasn’t like he told her to do crazy amounts of weight, just get no fails.  
He excused himself from his father and went to go look for her. Luckily he found her pouring her protein powder in her bottle towards the back of the gym near the water fountain.  
“Seems like you’re holding up alright.” He said as casually as he could while trying to get her attention. “How do you feel going into your last attempt?”  
Elizabeth turned around and looked up in alarm to find him standing there. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled with confidence, “Great, I’ll have you know that I accepted your challenge without taking any shortcuts.”  
“You mean with upping the weight? I heard the last one you’ve never been able to accomplish in practice.”  
She lifted her head up and furrowed her eyebrows, “If you’re trying to intimidate me then you’ll be disappointed. I am not easily scared away from a challenge.”  
“So I see, but remember that you have six more lifts you’ll be doing, and you don’t need to be tiring yourself out now to prove a point.”  
“Well then, I guess I shall have to prove my point and do well in the other six attempts on top of that then.”  
She walked back to the bull pen with determined steps.  
William sighed in frustration. Did he just motivate her to push herself even more or was that his imagination?

 

Elizabeth sat down in her seat and waited for her last turn. She took a few sips of her protein drink, but was lost in thought.  
“Something bothering you?” asked coach Darcy as he sat down beside her.  
“No, just trying to understand.”  
“Understand what?”  
“There are a lot of people who are straight-forward speakers like myself, but then there are people who don’t say what they mean and make things complicated to understand. I was challenged to do good. Then I was told that I was trying too hard and should go easy. Why can’t guys just say what they mean and mean what they say?” Elizabeth’s eyes widened when she remembered she wasn’t talking to Charlotte, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to say that you were like that.”  
“I can only assume you’re referring to the person you look up to.” Coach Darcy smiled, he was now sure it was his son, “I’m sure they’re just trying to show their concern for your safety and wellbeing.”  
“I’ll be fine. The last thing I need is for him to start worrying over me like my mother or even Jane. Though she comes out here all day to support me, I know she fears I’m going to hurt myself. All I want is for someone to just believe I can do it and that’s enough for me.”  
“Just because he’s worried doesn’t mean he doesn’t believe in you. You’ll do great.”  
Elizabeth only nodded.

 

In her third attempt for 55.8kg, she got two out of three good lights which meant she passed, but was cutting it close.  
She could feel her body needing rest and was thankful for the time between the next event to stretch a bit.  
Charlotte came over to sit with her while she did.  
“Hey, are you okay? You looked like you weren’t going to make it through that last one.”  
“But I did.” Elizabeth grinned, but then it fell and she turned back to looking at her hands, “Maybe he was right after all.”  
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about Collins.” Charlotte teased.  
“No! I meant Darcy.”  
“You mean what he said about you needing a coach?”  
“Well that, and that I need to remember that I have six more lifts to worry about and I shouldn’t be tiring myself out early.”  
“That’s important too. You need to look at the big picture as well.”  
“I’ll just have to remember that for the next round.”

 

Charles took the break from Jane’s sister’s flight to go and find Darcy who was brooding in a corner.  
“Something bothering you, man?”  
“I made the error of allowing myself to care.”  
“About what?”  
“How she did. Now I have to feel guilty of having pushed her to lift something that she had no business in trying. She hadn’t succeeded in lifting that much weight before today.”  
“And you feel bad because you made her realize her potential?”  
“No Charles, she could’ve hurt herself.”  
“But she didn’t. So everything is fine. Doubting her can’t be very encouraging.”  
“I wasn’t doubting her, At least that wasn’t my intention. I was trying to help. She was too narrow-minded, only thinking about the squats, when she has the bench press and dead lift to worry about too.”  
“Yeah, but Darcy, you have this way in saying things that can be taken insensitive or just plain rude and offensive.”  
“Is that all, or do you have something else to add.” William frowned.  
Charles shook his head and smiled, “No, if I keep going then you’ll be beating yourself up for a week.”  
“You don’t have that much influence on me.” William said as he rolled his eyes.

 

Elizabeth was thrilled that the tournament was finally over and she pulled on her sweats after changing clothes. Jane and Charlotte met her outside the changing room and they all sat together to wait on the trophy ceremony. Elizabeth had thanked Coach Darcy several times after the meet was over for helping her. It was kind of disappointing that it would end after tonight.  
This would probably be the last time she saw Darcy again which she had mixed feelings on. On one hand, she loved watching him lift and he was still her role model. The other hand, he made her doubt herself in her last squat and she barely got a pass. She was able to finish his challenge, albeit barely. She wished she could’ve pushed herself to lift heavier, but afterwards she played it safe despite herself. Elizabeth hated herself for letting his words get to her. It was almost as annoying as—  
“Elizabeth! I see we’ve made it just in time.” Called the irritating voice of one William Collins.  
“If you mean the very end where they’re just about to give the trophies then yes. You missed the entire tournament.” Elizabeth said with a frown that was overlooked by the one it was sent to.  
“Watching women behave like men is unsettling to me.”  
“Probably because they can do what you can’t.” Elizabeth muttered to herself.  
“Lizzie dear, we’ve come to cheer you on. We got a little distracted at some shops along the way over here, but it seems we didn’t miss everything.”  
“Mom, the whole thing is over. We’re just waiting to see if I won something.”  
“I daresay you have. My daughter deserves first place and if they don’t give it to you then I shall argue for you, my dear.”  
“No, I think I’d rather you not embarrass me that way. I’d rather get nothing then to go through you yelling at the man.”  
“Mom look, it’s William Darcy and Charles Bingley from the Darcy Gym!” Lydia pointed out rather loudly.  
“Oh my goodness. I didn’t know they’d be here.”  
“Yeah they competed yesterday.” Charlotte supplied.  
“Girl’s, why didn’t you say something?”  
“Well it wasn’t like we were expecting them to come today.” Jane smiled.  
“Charles sat with Jane and Charlotte while I lifted.”  
“Coach Darcy even stood with Elizabeth during the events today as her coach. It was pretty cool.” Charlotte grinned.  
“We must thank the man.” Mrs. Bennet said rather fidgety.  
“I already did, several times.”  
“My employer is actually William Darcy’s aunt.” Collins said proudly.  
“Really?” Elizabeth said in wonder.  
“Don’t you remember me telling you last month?”  
“Oh yeah.” Elizabeth nodded, but really she mostly zoned the man out whenever he talked. 50% of the time it was sexist comments, 30% irrelevant comments on what his employer told him or did, 20% cheesy flattery that only few took as a compliment.  
“She is everything kind. I’m sure you’ll love her Elizabeth when you meet her.”  
Elizabeth doubted that she would ever have an occasion to meet such a woman of such standing. She was the governor of the state, elected for her second term after the gap year. Collins was sort of like her secretary, but more like a servant in how he basically would do about anything to please her.  
The fact that the governor of her state was related to the infamous Darcy-Fitzwilliam family was not surprising. They were connected in a lot of social circles.

 

To Elizabeth’s relief, the announcer returned to start the awards ceremony. Her heart leapt in excitement when she heard her name was called to come up and receive a first place trophy.  
Mrs. Bennet was pretty loud in her cheers while her younger sisters had taken interest in the few men that had come to today’s event. Charlotte and Jane were clapping and taking pictures for her as she took the trophy with the certificate.

 

Darcy was pleased to see Elizabeth go up for her hard earned award. Her eyes were sparkling again like the time he saw her across the room yesterday. His hands moved automatically to clap. Bingley and his father, who were standing by him were clapping already.  
“She’s a very interesting young woman.” His father reflected.  
“That she is.”  
“I’m sure she wouldn’t have felt half as motivated with you pushing her to do her best.” Smiled the older man.  
“I only did so because I care about the sport and wanted her to take it seriously.”  
“I’m sure not every girl here tonight would’ve taken it the same way as Ms. Bennet. Which is why I’m going to invite her to train at our gym until her uncle gets back on his feet.” Coach Darcy said before walking towards the door.  
“Wait what?” William jerked his head to his retreating father. Did he just hear what he thought he did? He was going to be seeing Elizabeth again and be training alongside her.  
“Seems like things are about to get interesting.” Charles grinned as he waved one last time to Jane before following his coach. William lingered, his eyes going back to Elizabeth who was talking with the now larger group of supporters. Her smile never faltered as she continued to talk with them.  
Maybe it won’t be so bad having a girl around after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I hoped you liked my story, depending on how things go I may continue the story. I'm pressed to finish other stories and my Christmas break only last for so long. Merry Christmas!!!


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